The writer is spokesperson for the German Greens in the European Parliament and vice-minister in the federal German department of economy and climate protection
In Germany, the Green party has entered into a coalition at the federal level with the Social Democrats and liberals for the first time. Realising the aims of the Paris climate agreement and driving an ecological transformation of the German economy are the new government’s top priorities.
Its plans have the potential to set a global standard in tackling the climate crisis. Germany, the fourth-largest economy in the world, wants 80 per cent of its power supply to be provided by renewables by 2030. That will involve, among other things, building wind farms on 2 per cent of the country’s land and installing photovoltaic systems on the roof of nearly every suitable building.
The timely implementation of energy infrastructure projects on this scale will require cutting…
